KSC-2011-6143

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In Orbiter Processing Facility-2 (OPF-2) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians help position a special payload removal device above Atlantis’ cargo bay in preparation to remove the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module. Raffaello will then be readied for transport to the Space Station Processing Facility where its contents will be unloaded. Atlantis completed NASA’s final space shuttle mission, STS-135, after landing at the center’s Shuttle Landing Facility, July 21, 2011, at 5:57 a.m. EDT. Following removal of all payloads in Atlantis’ cargo bay, workers will begin to prepare the spacecraft for eventual permanent display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. Photo credit: Jim Grossman